Exploring The Complexities Of Deathbound: A Unique Souls-like Experience

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In a gaming landscape saturated with Souls-like titles, the challenge for new entrants is to stand out in a crowd of similar mechanics and themes. The recent years have witnessed a surge of games attempting to capture the essence of what makes Souls games appealing, yet many fall short of delivering a fresh experience. This is where Deathbound aims to make its mark, presenting players with a dystopian world that promises an engaging narrative and unique gameplay mechanics.

However, as players will discover, Deathbound is not without its flaws. While the concept of switching between classes in real-time adds a layer of strategy, it does not entirely compensate for the game's performance issues. Gamers often find themselves grappling with unbalanced gameplay and difficulty spikes that can detract from the overall enjoyment, leading to a mixed reception.

Despite its shortcomings, Deathbound still holds potential for those willing to navigate its rough edges. With a narrative that intertwines life, death, and the supernatural, it offers a rich backdrop that could resonate with fans of the genre. As we delve deeper into the game's mechanics and story, we find ourselves questioning whether its innovative concepts are enough to elevate it above the competition.

Key Takeaways

What You Will Learn

An interesting setting and core concept set Deathbound apart in the crowded Souls-like genre.
The ability to switch between different classes on the fly adds tactical depth to the gameplay.
However, performance issues, unbalanced gameplay, and unfair difficulty detract from the overall experience.

The influx of Souls games that have come in recent years has been a blessing but also a bit of a curse. On the positive side of the equation, you get more Souls games, which is always a plus, and you get some variety due to FromSoft not being the only studio producing games within this sub-genre. The downside has been that, because of the success of FromSoft, many developers simply aim to provide a competent clone of the games in their catalog.

Well, that's not something that can be leveled at Deathbound, a game that places you in a dystopian apocalypse where life, death, and eternity are at the forefront of everyone's mind. This game sets itself apart with a spirit-based combat system where you can switch between pre-set classes on the fly, but is this big swing enough to make Deathbound a game bound for success?

An Unfortunate Death Rattle

It's considered a bit of a faux pas to pass judgment on the performance of games on release day, mainly because the developer usually rushes a patch out days after, and you're left with an egg on your face. But, with that being said, we can't sit here and say that Deathbound is a game that plays particularly well from a performance point of view, and it's unlikely a quick patch will fix this up from what we've seen.

Despite running this game on a PC rig that is more than capable of running a game such as this, this game stuttered, crashed, and dropped frames enough times to make it more than a little irritant you roll your eyes at. And when we tried this game out on the Steam Deck for kicks, this only exasperated the problem. So take this game's 'Steam Deck Certified' label with a pinch of salt. If this game pushed the boundaries of modern graphics, maybe we could have looked past it, but it isn't a looker. It's not ugly, don't get us wrong, but the animations are clunky at the best of times, the environments are all cookie-cutter, and the general quality of textures and visuals feel about a generation behind. So, it's hard to see why this game runs so poorly.